


Scars

by EmJ93



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 12:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmJ93/pseuds/EmJ93
Summary: Ariela is nervous that seeing her scars exposed for the first time may scare off Aloth, but realises that they both bear the scars of their pasts, and that they are stronger together.





	Scars

“Gods, it’s so much bigger than I’d realised." 

Aloth’s breathy declaration caught her off-guard, and despite her best intentions, Ariela felt laughter beginning to bubble up inside of her. She’d been feeling a little nervous a few moments before, but that one sentence from her lover had been enough to break the tension, and she knew now that she had never had anything to feel worried about. Gasping for breath as she attempted to suppress her giggles, she queried; "Aren't  _I_  supposed to be saying that to  _you_ , the first time that we ever undress one another?”

A slight blush worked its way across his cheeks, and she took a moment to appreciate how beautiful he was, as he returned his gaze to her face, his fingers still resting delicately against her skin by the long scar that cut across her chest. She’d never hidden it, never hidden any part of herself, but she knew that it looked a lot worse without clothing naturally obscuring the full extent of it. She’d hoped that it wouldn’t be enough to put him off, that the scars, cuts and bruises that littered her body, once bared, would not change his opinion of her. That he would still be attracted to her. She knew that his interest in her was founded on the strong emotional connection that they’d built up over the months and years that they’d known one another, and had always suspected that he valued that connection more highly than any kind of physical attraction, but that hadn’t stopped her from worrying that her physical flaws might just be enough to scare him off. But the look of wonderment on his face as he looked at her, and the way his gentle touch had explored each inch of exposed skin without any hint of judgement, made it clear to her that she had never needed to be concerned.

Her giggling trailed off as she realised that his pretty features had begun to twist into a frown.

“Sorry.” He apologised, suddenly, averting his gaze from hers with a troubled expression. "I… I hope that I didn’t manage to spoil the mood.“

Reaching up to brush stray strands of dark hair back behind his ear, she carefully turned his face so that she could look him in the eye once more. Craning her neck upwards, she pressed a quick kiss against his lips, and then another, lingering this time, letting out a satisfied hum when she noted that his expression had seemed to soften once again. "You haven’t spoiled anything, my love. As if you even could." 

He opened his mouth to respond but seemed to change his mind, closing it again quickly. There was a brief moment, then she saw an expression not too dissimilar to mischief work its way across his face, and he lowered his head, placing deliberate kisses against the length of her scar, tracing its path across her body. "You really are lovely.” The words were murmured against her skin, but she heard them all the same, her heart soaring with joy.

Her response was automatic, a dreamy smile overtaking her lips. “Not as lovely as you.”

“Ari.” He lifted his head once more, fixing her with a stern look, as though he disapproved of her remark.

“It's  _true._ ” She defended, well aware of the ridiculousness of having to argue with your lover to convince them of their own worth. And yet, it had seemed to be their most frequent argument since the beginning of their relationship. She wished that he could see himself the way that she saw him. “You’ve been through so much to get to where you are, and you’ve grown so much in the years that we were apart.”

“Thanks in no small part to you. You’re always so self-assured, as you should be. I aspire to learn but a fraction of your confidence.”

She chuckled at that. “Trust me, darling, I’m not as confident as I seem. If you knew how nervous I’d been a few minutes ago, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

He paused for a moment, clearly not having anticipated that response. “…What would you possibly have to be nervous about?”

“All of it. Of letting you see me.” She chewed nervously on her lower lip; baring her soul to him, just as she had her body. “I think the world of you, you know. I was so frightened that I was going to scare you off.”

“Because of a few scars?” He frowned, ever so briefly, and then let out the most genuine laugh she had ever heard from him. “Ariela, your scars are a part of you, just like anything else. They’re just another thing that makes you as wonderful as you are. You’ve accepted so much about me, did you really think that I wouldn’t be able to accept that about you?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m not exactly used to being accepted just as I am. You remember that my family tried to have me killed for being a little bit different, yes?”

“And yet you’ve continued to show that you can accept anything about everyone else.” He smiled wryly. “I assure you, if you aren’t put off by Iselmyr’s antics, then you have nothing to fear from this relationship. I don’t know what the future holds for us, and I won’t pretend to, but if something is to break us apart, I can promise you that nothing about you will be the cause.”

She claimed his lips again, in a sudden burst of emotion, kissing him deeply, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him tight against her body. “I love you, Aloth Corfiser.”

He stumbled as she pulled him, collapsing against her with a brief laugh. “And I love you.”

They both had scars, she knew that. And though she’d been worried about the physical in this moment, she already knew that he had accepted the mental scars that she bore. Her trust issues, her bouts of paranoia, the way that she overcompensated for both with actions that might not be the wisest in the long term. He’d seen all sides of her, and had taken it in his stride. Had accepted her in ways that she hadn’t realised that she had been longing for for so long. And she loved all parts of him. His Awakened soul, his closed off nature, the way that he doubted himself and over-thought every little thing. The mental and physical scars he still carried, and always would, as a result of a childhood that he would prefer not to remember. She’d got to see every part of him, bit by bit, as he’d slowly opened up to her, and every layer only made her adore him more.

They might not have the belief in themselves that they both wished that they did, but she had come to learn that their belief in each other was unshakeable. And so long as they were together, she realised, so long as they had each other to cheer themselves on and encourage one another, perhaps they could begin to grow, and to work on the parts of themselves that they were unhappy with. 

Perhaps, now, their scars could finally begin to heal.


End file.
